KUTRRH entrance and KMPDU Secretrary General

Doctors Union Say Ethiopian Medics Employed By Kenyatta University Hospital Aren't Qualified

KUTRRH entrance and KMPDU Secretrary General

  • KMPDU secretary-general Davji Atellah has stated that the Ethiopian doctors hired by the government are not qualified enough
  • This follows Kenyatta University Hospital's announcement that they have hired five doctors from Malawi, Ethiopia and Tanzania
  • The doctors were hired to fill the gap by the striking doctors in the hospital's cancer patients' department

PAY ATTENTION: TUKO is in WhatsApp Channels now! Subscribe and read news in favourite messenger.

The Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has said the Ethiopian medics employed to replace striking doctors at the Kenyatta University Teaching Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH) are not qualified.

Speaking to TUKO.co.ke, KMPDU secretary general Davji Atellah said Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) called the foreign-hired doctors for a peer review before being licensed, but all failed except one.

"To imagine that these were the people who were going to be entrusted with our patients is chilling, to say the least. We must never play PR with our patients' lives!" the union stated.

PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see TUKO News on your News Feed

As such, Atellah said they can not be licensed to offer the services in Kenya

Why Kenyatta University Hospital employed 5 foreign doctors

KUTTRH employed five foreign doctors on April 9, to treat patients amid the ongoing nationwide doctors' strike.

To counter the situation and help cancer patients under its care, KUTRRH hired five oncologists from Ethiopia, Malawi, and Tanzania.

According to the facility's board chairperson, Olive Mugenda, the hospital hired three doctors from Ethiopia, one from Tanzania and another from Malawi, to help treat cancer patients who urgently need care.

Mugenda said the government ratified the move, adding that the hospital would retain the specialists even after the strike.

Doctors nationwide strike

The doctors have been on strike for almost a month now. Attempts to resolve the crisis have proven to be futile.

On April 7, President William Ruto asked the striking doctors to consider the country's economic state.

Speaking at the AIC Church in Eldoret on Sunday, April 7, Ruto said the government has no money to meet the demands of the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists' Union

The crisis in the health sector countrywide deepened after the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) issued a seven-day strike notice on March 26.

Announcing their plans to join in the doctors' strike, KUCO chairperson Peterson Wachira accused the national and county governments of failing to keep their end of the bargain.

Proofreading by Jackson Otukho, a multimedia journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke

PAY ATTENTION: Unlock exclusive features from TUKO.co.ke - join our membership!

Man Saved From Floods Beaten For Disregarding Warnings Of Being Swept Away
Neighbour Of Sergeant Omondi Who Died In Chopper Crash Says He Couldn't Break Death News To His Wife
30 Powerful Bible Verses About Reading The Bible Every Day

KUTRRH entrance and KMPDU Secretrary General
KUTRRH entrance and KMPDU Secretrary General
Doctors Union say Ethiopian Medics Employed by Kenyatta University
Doctors Union say Ethiopian Medics Employed by Kenyatta University
Doctors Union say Ethiopian Medics Employed by Kenyatta University
Doctors Union say Ethiopian Medics Employed by Kenyatta University